No. 16
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
April 16 – 22, 2015
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
The Wayne Police
Department and McDonald's
will host Coffee with a Cop
from 9 to 11 a.m. this
Saturday at the Wayne
McDonald's.
See page 4.
The City of Romulus has
some new events planned to
celebrate Earth Day that are
all free and open to the pub-
lic.
See page 3.
Plymouth Township has
filed for a reconsideration
through the Michigan Court
of Appeals, seeking to over-
turn the court decision to
return 190-acres of land to
Detroit.
See page 2.
The Feed a Need club at
Northville High School will
host a charity dinner from 6-
8 p.m. tomorrow, April 17, to
benefit Northville Civic
Concern.
See page 5.
Marge Bergman's hand-
made quilt was chosen as the
overwhelming favorite of vis-
itors to the Belleville Area
Museum 29th Annual Quilt
Show lastmonth.
See page 3.
Vol. 130, No. 16
Vol. 68, No. 16
Vol. 68, No. 16
Vol. 15, No. 16
Vol. 130, No. 16
Vol. 68, No. 16
Vol. 68, No. 16
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Richard LeBlanc, a
Wayne County Commiss-
ioner from Westland, has
filed the election forms
required to place his name
on the Aug. 4 ballot as a can-
didate for Westland City
Clerk.
See page 4.
Young Frankenstein takes
the main stage for six per-
formances at The Village
Theater at Cherry Hill on
April 17 - 19 and 24 - 26 per-
formed by the Spotlight
Players.
See page 5.
Vol. 15, No. 16
Inkster-based Starfish
Family Services has chosen
Rebecca A. Boylan and
Thomas W. Sidlik as the
Great Hearts Award hon-
orees this year.
See page 4.
The recent appointment of
Wayne County Commissioner
Shannon Price as the new
PlymouthTownship supervisor
is causing concern among
some Republican Party mem-
bers who say that his county
jobmay have to be filled with a
costly special election.
According to the Wayne
County Charter…” If a vacancy
occurs in the office of a
Commissioner, the vacancy
shall be filled by appointment
within 30 days with an
appointee belonging to the
same political party as the pre-
vious Commissioner.”
However,
Township
Precinct Delegate andmember
of the Wayne County
Republican
Committee
Richard Sharland discovered
that the county charter also
dictates that if a vacancy
occurs on the county commis-
sion and is filled in an odd-
numbered year, the appointee
will only serve until a succes-
sor is elected in special elec-
tion. (Wayne County Charter
Section 3.112 c.) There were
revisions to the Michigan
Election Law in August of 2013
that invalidates that section,
according to Canton Township
ClerkTerryBennett.
Price's letter of resignation
was received by the Wayne
County Commission office
Monday afternoon, according
to a commission spokesman.
Price said that he began his
first day as PlymouthTownship
supervisor the same day, after
being sworn in by Township
Clerk Nancy Conzelman dur-
ing a private ceremonywithhis
family present.
Sharland, however, was less
than enthusiastic about Price's
appointment.
“Price was only 100 days
into his second term and now
we're facedwith the expense of
a special election,” said
Sharland, who is convinced the
county charter provisions
require a special election.
“Something the township
board said when they selected
Price over other candidates
was that they didn't want was to
have the taxpayers foot the bill
for an election, and now we
find out we're facedwith this.”
Wayne County has an expir-
ing parks millage and could
call a special election in an
effort to renew the levy in
August
or
November,
explained Bennett, and
include the commission seat
An illegal gun sale that went
wrong resulted in the death of a
21-year-old Redford man whose
bodywas found inhis parked car
inWestland.
Three men, Arlandus Nolen
II, 18, and Daveion Dix, 19, both
of Inkster and Arlandus Nolen,
Sr., 39, of Roseville were arrest-
ed and charged in the shooting
which took place at about 10:30
p.m. March 28. Police were
called to the scene by neighbors
who reported hearing shots
fired. When police arrived, they
found McClendon seated in the
driver's seat of his vehicle dead
frommultiple gunshot wounds.
Police said that two guns
were involved in the shooting
and that multiple spent 40-cal-
iber and 9mm casings were
found at the scene. Investigators
said that evidence located at the
scene let police to a home in the
29000 block of Rosewood in
Inkster where a search warrant
was executed. Investigators said
Nolen Jr. and Dix were meeting
the victim to illegally sell him a
9mm handgun. Nolen II and Dix
have been arraigned in district
court on charges of first-degree
murder, armed robbery and
felony firearm. Dix is also
charged as a habitual offender
as the result of a 2014 conviction
for carrying a concealed
weapon.
Not guilty pleas were entered
on their behalf and they were
remanded to police custody
without bond.
Nolen Sr. was charged with
felony accessory after the fact,
being a felon in possession of a
firearm, felony firearm and
being a habitual offender as he
has two prior felony convictions
including carjacking in 1997 and
being a prisoner in possession of
aweapon in 2003.
The three are scheduled for a
preliminary court examination
on the charges April 30 at 18th
District Court inWestland.
See
Election,
page 2
”
Price was only 100 days into
his second term and now we're
faced with the expense of a special election.
3 arrested, charged in Westland fatal shooting
Question of special county election raised
Shannon Price
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Work of art
Wedding dress at center
of international project
Who better than profes-
sional photographers to help
fund an organization that
restores smiles to children?
No one, decided local pho-
tographer Helen Yancy who
joined an elite group of 100
creative professionals recent-
ly when she agreed to partici-
pate in an effort to raise funds
for an international charity,
Operation Smile. The interna-
tional charity funds corrective
surgery for birth defects and
problems like cleft lip, cleft
palate and facial deformities
for children around theworld.
Yancy, a Plymouth resident
who is also an artist and past
president of the Professional
Photographers of America,
agreed to be part of The
Traveling Dress Project, a
somewhat complicated effort
to support OperationSmile.
Yancy said she was sure
the organizer of the project,
Minnesota photographer
Ginella Simon, selected her to
participate based on her pro-
fessional credentials as the
two have never met. She
agreed to join selected pho-
tographers across the country
who have been challenged to
produce an original image of
a model posing in the same
vintagewedding gown.
The idea was born when
Simon found the old, but still
gorgeous, gown about a year
or so ago in a thrift shop.
Simon produced one of the
first photos and issued the
challenge to her professional
associates across the country,
many of whom have already
responded with dazzling dis-
plays of photographic origi-
nality. Not to be outdone,
Yancy asked Bobbie Jean
Kaster, her granddaughter-in-
law, who was the necessary
tiny size, to model the gown
and then devised her setting
for the portrait. The two used
Sean O'Callaghan's Pub in
downtown Plymouth for one
of their locations and the
Dearborn Inn for another.
“I loved the idea of the
saloon bride,” Yancy said.
“And this was made even bet-
ter because Bobbie Jean did-
n't have a formal wedding and
this project really made her
feel special.”
Yancy said that while pho-
tographers are given a list of
rules regarding the dress and
told it is a size 4, her model
was a size 0 and it fit her per-
fectly.
“I suspect there may be a
lot of people cramming them-
selves into that dress,” she
saidwith a laugh.
Yancy's work will be some-
As part of the Traveling Dress Project, Helen Yancy produced an
oil painting from a photograph of her granddaughter-in-law in the
vintage wedding dress.
See
Dress,
page 4
Helen Yancy
